Of Truths, Lies, and Weapons
by BlackRoseTrashMercRuby99
Summary: When Mercury is tasked with trying to sway Ruby to Salem's side, he is stuck at a crossroad between emotions and dutiful lessons. Try and see where it lands him. {Will have two paths. I will try to update regularly, when it is time for the paths to split, I will take a hiatus and make corresponding chapters while uploading the counterpart more updates will give more information}
1. Prologue

This is an edited chapter! Almost every edit has been added because of the review Videocrazy. Speaking of Videocrazy: This prologue has been re-edited by myself and is dedicated to Videocrazy

The truth of it all was that he wasn't supposed to be here, in the dark with chains-that he could easily slip free of-around his arms and legs. He could maneuver himself out of the situation in a moment,but he heard what that man had ordered, he knew the danger that she was in currently and he was even more aware of how much the danger would increase if she was brought before them. He wasn't going to delude himself, she was in trouble the moment he had started to see her for what she was: the girl he loved.

Strangely, nothing bad had come of it, at least until she signed up for the Vytal Festival. Then he began to worry for her safety, his gaze began to linger on her for a bit longer, and his touch didn't leave her skin near as fast as it used to. He began to show her emotions that he never knew existed, and because of that, Qrow Branwen scooped him away from her with the intent to question him. Ozpin didn't have the chance to ask him any questions, Mercury happily spilled the beans on one condition: that Ruby be placed in the last section of battle.

After he had confessed, he bowed his head ready for one of the professors-or both of them-to attack him with profanities, with threats of vengeance. That, however did not happen. Mercury had raised his head and saw he was behind the unconscious bodies of the headmaster and his most trusted pawn. "You are a disgrace." With those words, came a flying fist, effectively knocking him out.  
Mercury came to, he heard the man order, "If he escapes, bring the girl and replace him with her, do Whatever you want with her." His body was frozen and his blood chilled there was no escape for him, not a glimmer of hope. However; he began to feel hot, and his heart warmed to know that as long as he stayed put, she was safe. So there he would stay: in the dark, chained to the chair against his will, and at his mercy-though Mercury knew he had none. He would endure any torture to keep her safe.


	2. Chapter 1

"Don't worry,Mercy-boy,this is gonna straighten your attitude out."came his deranged father's voice from his left side as the chainsaw started."Of course you're gonna have to get used to your new legs, but I have no doubt that you will work through it effortlessly, unless you want another punishment."The man chuckled darkly before the sound of the gas powered tool sounded closer to him,and then the searing pain set in, just below his and sweating,Mercury Black bolted upright in bed,breathing heavily.

It had been so long since he had had that flashback,so long since he had woken up feeling hurt beyond words,and shaking so his emotions,he took a deep breath to survey the shaking of his state they were in, they wouldn't be able to attach his legs-which was bad on his account,as Mercury needed to be at Cinder's dorm room in ten took another deep breath to steady his nerves as he removed the covers from what was left of his human legs and moved to the edge of the bed where his prosthetic legs stood next to it. Silently in calm movements,Mercury attached his legs,his fingers meticulously attaching the small wires and realigning the outside gears so that they worked at a more smooth pace along the more civilized terrain he found his employer,co-worker(if he could call her that), and himself occupying.

Being completely honest with himself wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do,however in his current predicament,he couldn't help but HATED large crowds,he was taught that it was better to stick to the shadows and only emerge in the light to socialize just enough to never be conspicuous to his neighbors and 'allies'.He had refrained from scoffing at that lecture,as it would have resulted in more scars accumulating on his back and shoulders,he didn't believe in that as a child when Marcus had started to teach ,he was grown,and everything about him seemed to darken with ,that is,except his remained a dull grey,giving him an emo-edgy look that he guessed made him seem like he fit in with most of the kids with a 'darker' outlook on course,this made him seem approachable,but paired with the dark eyes that he had gotten from his mother,those who seen the obsidian-like eyes ran for the hills.

It used to bring him comfort,being able to glare away his enemies and people he didn't like,now it made him feel… It's not good to feel Mercury,never let anyone into your heart,because they will betray your trust. Mercury Black shook his head and rose from his bed,tensing up again as he took a stance and allowed his dark eyes to scan over the one-room had heard Marcus Black,or at least,it sounded like him."Dammit,"He cursed under his breath,"he's dead 't be stupid."That was what he told himself whenever that happened,whenever Marcus Black's lessons clung to his head like a second skin and weaved themselves into his sighed at his stupidity,how could he think that the man was alive,after all he had seen the light fade from the man's eyes himself.

Looking back to that night,if he had taken his sperm donor's advice,then he wouldn't be in a school filled with stupid that were naive and trusting the adults around them."They're all stupid kids,"he whispered to himself as he snatched the school uniform from Haven from the bag he kept on the bedside table and began the task of getting dressed."They're all fighting a war that they don't even know they're gonna lose,it would be a pity,if I gave a shit."He pulled on his pants,being as careful as he could to not tug on his wires and much regard,he threw on his boots,foregoing the given shoes would grouse at him if he was supposed to wear the shoes that went with the uniform,but until then,he would wear his usual boots.

Grasping the comb that he needed to use to straighten out his hair,he gave it a quick run through before pocketing the scroll issued to him by Cinder and exiting his was a short walk to the amber-eyed woman's room from his own,this calmed his nerves down slightly as this meant that he wouldn't be late. He checked the time,and looked to his right side,Emerald would have already been by the door and waiting for her 'master' to open the thinking about the mint-haired girl had him almost gagging,he could tell that Cinder was using her puppy love to manipulate her,but if he had told Emerald she would deny it to her last that it would be a waste of his energy,Mercury left it be,if she wanted to believe that the woman of mysterious origins returned her feelings let her.

It would be easier to leave that way,he told himself,as long as there was a distraction and he had enough saved up he could probably didn't want to hope,but sometimes that's all he had left,he didn't want to die just ,he realized that his demise would probably be brought upon by the very woman he was going to see for a mission,and that he would most-likely be cremated before he could leave the plan wasn't enough money in the world that would keep her from torching him if he were to step out of line,and as soon as he showed his true colors,there would be no means of escape either."Hey, Earth to Mercury,what's going on in that messed up head of yours?"

The male snapped his attention to his partner,seeing her red eyes looking at his expectantly,this wouldn't normally happen-him spacing out."Nothing that you need to worry about."He answered gruffly, almost huffing as he crossed his arms and looked at the door in front of them silently.

"Oh,you're not trying to talk my ear off this is serious,alright I'm listening." Mercury stayed silent,almost wanting to laugh when she gave a slight pout."Come on Merc,you've got to tell me,I'm all worried about you now."

Mercury put on a faux smirk as he turned to her,"you're worrying for me?Awe,I'm touched Em."This effectively put her in a sour mood,that was good for him right now,familiar things kept him in his safe he wasn't too comfortable with passing on days like this.

"You're an ass." She accused.

"Yeah,but as least I'm a good looking one." He remarked cockily as he shifted to lift a hand to knock on the door,only for her caramel colored hand to beat him to the threw another one of his signature smirks as she turned away from him entirely."Wanna explain that Em?"

Her red eyes viciously glared at him in slight resentment for his question. " ." She enunciated clearly. "Or so help me I'll-"

"You'll do what Emerald?" Came the falsely soothing voice of Cinder from the doorway,this had the young illusionist stuttering in slight fear and disappointment in herself for not noticing the opening of the door."Well?"The tapping of the impatient heel started to eat at the girl as she gulped,then opened her mouth to give an answer,only for the heel to stop abruptly."Never-mind,get in here you two."Both of the teens exchanged slight glances before walking into the room and sitting on the floor,having already realizing that the all-too-kind-Ozpin had given her a smaller room.

"What's first on the agenda?"Emerald eagerly asks as she crosses her legs and places her hands in her lap.

"Assignments."Cinder answered simply as she sat upon her bed with all the grace of a princess,or a serpent in Mercury's opinion."Emerald,your first assignment is to get information on all of the teams that I sent to your scroll last night."Without much care in the world,Cinder plucked her own scroll from the top of her neatly made bed,"I've also a few more teams to add to the list."Emerald made no sound as the information was sent to her scroll,and Mercury could tell that she fought hard to keep the emotion of anger and curiosity from her features."I want their semblances,special skills,strengths,and weaknesses on every member and the team as a you understand?"

Emerald gave a single nod to show that she understood her assignment, "Good,you are dismissed."Without a word,the female teen left her crush and partner behind,just like the soldier that she had been trained to be."Your mission is a completely different branch Mercury,however it shouldn't surprise you that it still relates to my mission,but you won't be being evaluated by me. You will be evaluated by her." The silver-haired boy nodded his head without a sound,showing that he accepted the mission already being given to him,slightly worrying the woman in front of him."You will be tasked with turning one of Ozpin's students to our side, a child-prodigy if you will."A file was tossed in his direction and Mercury caught it effortlessly.

Printed in bold black letters was the name Ruby Rose,interest lackluster,Mercury flipped the top of the document scanned the contents without much care for what they would entail,considering that he would probably end up damaging her like he seemed to do whenever he was sent on a search and retrieve mission,he didn't believe that he would want to commit to the all changed when he seen her age,"Fifteen?There's an actual kid in the academy."He remarked as he scanned her information,she wasn't that interesting with her weapons skills, only a few in that wasn't what had his interest piqued however; it was her grades,she was skipped ahead two years and yet held the highest grades among her peers in the first year.

"You are to get her to join us, or you will have to dispose of her."Cinder informed him heartlessly, "She doesn't care how you do it, either way will work. But I do have to warn you that she really wants her on our side."

Mercury nodded without a sound as he rose and tucked the documents in his boot before lowering his pant's leg to cover up the existence of the papers."Consider it done." He said curtly as he made his way to the door, aware of the impending doom that was to come if he were to fail,this was an entire game changer for him.

The truth of this mission was simple: There was no escape for him now.

* * *

He was beyond seething,this would be an utter disaster,he was supposed to be staying under Cinder for the rest of his time with he was expected to finish a mission for her, someone he didn't see eye-to-eye with,someone who could kill him if she so wasn't ready for that,he wasn't ready to die,especially not for a dumb-ass reason like this leaned against a sturdy bookshelf in the library,the folder tucked in the middle of the large book of Grimm 101 as he idly watched the sister teams RWBY and JNPR 'study'. The later of the two having two people actually studying,while the leader was reading some comic that he would have to remember to check out next(it looked pretty interesting or at least the art did),and a ginger girl sleeping while the boy next to her studied from the book she had promptly fallen asleep on.

Team RWBY,however; were playing Conquering Remnant:The Game. From the looks of it, the blonde girl was was there to study,but it had nothing to do with the textbook in his hands,it had everything to do with the silver eyed girl crying in the heiress's students,they were comical,in an idiotic so-called leader had no drive to lead the group to good grades,she was reckless when it came to the strategy of the game-as pointed out by the blonde she could have won the damn game already had she not played the defensive in the beginning of the importantly of all,she seemed to just be a kid,at a lower level than her teammates and her friends.

Suddenly,the attention was off of her,and he watched her like a let out a silent yawn,not noticed by anyone,and that was when he noticed the bags under her she studying at night?What was she doing that had her hiding her fatigue from her teammates and friends?Was she even trying to hid it?Did her teammates not seem to care?If they didn't care that would make his job so much easier,he could get in,manipulate her into thinking that no one cared for her at all,and then walk off with her under his arm to his boss and negotiate with her to get his freedom blonde boy asked if there were any free spots,and Ruby nodded yes. "I'm going grab crescent rose,she needs to be re-calibrated after the breach,I was really hard on her trying to kill a King Taijutsu."

Mercury's eyes followed her as she stood and handed the cards off to the monkey faunas and walked away without more ,he crept after her, keeping the Grimm 101 book at his side so the librarian wouldn't see it-lest he be caught and lose sight of his quickly came to the realization that he didn't have to worry,as he found her leaning against the wall just out of view of the library quietly approached her,only for her to draw her weapon and finding a very sharp scythe near chopping his head watched as her silver eyes widened and she quickly retracted her weapon."I'm so sorry,it's just,I-"

He placed a finger over his lips and looked back at the library doors,and she automatically understood what he team could hear them,especially Blake,and she looked at him in fear."Let's go somewhere a bit more private." He suggested and she nodded her lead him to the courtyard where flowers of all kinds bloomed freely,and he had to fight the urge to vomit at the slightly obvious and cliche 'private place' that she had choose."What's got you all spooked?"She looked down and away from him in shame,she already knew that she shouldn't have been skittish over this,but it hurt her on the deepest level that she had yet to discover until that day."Do you not trust your team or something?"

In response to that she waved her hands in a fast motion of denial,"It's not that,I swear!"Ruby sighed as she realized that she probably shouldn't keep her feelings bottled up. "I've...I have been a bit under the weather lately feelings wise. Ya'know?" She asked trying to get some kind of understanding from the stranger that had caught her at her lowest on the other hand couldn't have cared less about her actual well-being, emotionally or physically,but he was impressed with out fast she had been able to draw on him."You see,"she took a deep breath to stabilize herself,"I've only seen the carnage from Grimm attacks my mother had gotten to a village too late."Ruby sat down without much knowledge of the fact,but Mercury could pinpoint exactly what she was thinking."I...I hadn't spoken for weeks after that,and I thought that I would be okay this time,but…"

"Well,I would wager if you get a little shaken over a couple cadavers that this isn't the job for you."Mercury supplied without much attempt to keep his opinions to himself.

"Excuse me?" She asked and suddenly he found the anger in her melted metallic eyes directed at him,he recognized it from when she had her weapon to his throat, but at that time there seemed to be more fear in her eyes and just a few shimmers of the raw emotion that he found himself drawn into. "This is something that I've been working towards my entire life,I can't just not continue this,my mother did this alongside my father on the same are you to tell me that?"Ruby asked suddenly overcome with an immeasurable emotion that she had never felt in her life before,something that boiled her blood and sent her hands into fury filled fists."You know what?Don't answer that,I don't expect you to understand me."With those words,she left him near the water fountain all alone.

For a short while,he couldn't comprehend what happened,but when he had he sighed."Welp,you put your foot in your mouth again Mercury Black, what are you gonna do now?"He asked himself as he stood there like an idiot.

 **Hey you guys! Just wanna let you know that I'm thinking of monthly updates, every 21st that come around should be about a good time for me, what about you guys?**

 **Merry Christmas,Happy Hanukkah,and Sensational Solstice. Which do you guys celebrate?**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone, Happy New Years! I'm glad that you've stuck with this story this long, because I know that I have made some...pretty noticeable errors in the last chapter. That being said, I am extremely sorry that some of the words got cut out of the chapter, It might have been the fact that I was so focused on posting it in time, that I didn't proofread it enough. Some errors were brought to my attention: the lack of spaces after punctuation and run on sentences. The errors stated were called to my attention through Private Message, and for that I am grateful, but I want everyone to know that I do try to better myself through youtube videos and I do pay attention in my high school English class.**

 **Dear Guest,**

 **I'm sorry that I have the upload date set to a longer time than most writers on . I am in my senior year of high school and I am trying to sort out my future, and it isn't going too well for me right now, because of a lot of factors that I would rather stay desecrate at the moment. However; I want you to know that I do try to keep up with my update schedule, and since it is at the ending of the month, I can spend the entire month leading up to it on writing, editing, and proofreading. This is when I have the time, last month I did not, even with the break I was having a hard time with my family and emotionally wasn't here to write the chapter. I pulled myself together enough** **for** **just that one chapter and that is why it hit me pretty hard when I looked back and proofread the chapter again in the New Year.**

 **I am glad that you like the story so far, and I can't wait to read your reaction whenever I add in the juicy bits-I want to clarify: I WILL NOT BE WRITING A LEMON. Not here; if I do it won't be very good and possibly be put on Wattpad under GSGingerCat99's profile.**

 ** Sincerely, ****BlackRoseTrashMercRuby99**

 ** _WARNING: VOLUME 6 SPOILERS_**

* * *

 _'Who does he think he is? Telling me that I'm not cut out for this career, psh, I'll show that...jerk. Yeah! He's a total jerk and he doesn't even know how to be nice!'_ Ruby stopped at that thought. Who was _she_ to say that he didn't know how to be nice, he could have been trying to help her, in his own way- but why would he want to help her? She turned around to see him standing near the fountain, looking as if he was amused by her actions. Glaring at him, she turned on her heel and began walking in the direction farthest from him.

 _'Such a jerk!'_ She fumed angrily as she stomped away. What Ruby Rose had failed to notice, was that her ever gracious headmaster had been walking in her path, and that her eyes were unfocused in her rage- something she inherited from her father. When she suddenly met Professor Ozpin's chest, she fell on her bottom and he stayed standing, Ruby opened her eyes only to wish that she hadn't. Ozpin stood with a neutral expression, however; his eyes seemed to hold such coldness, that the copper eyes practically made Ruby shiver in fear. "Miss Rose, what do I owe the pleasure of… running into you on a Saturday afternoon?" He asked with a slight tone of amusement.

"Erm… sorry Professor Ozpin, I was trying to walk away from a problem of mine, but I see it as a futile effort." She sighed as she stood and dusted off her combat skirt.

"It seems that your father must have passed that down through his genes, much like his favored colors to wear into battle." He remarked and looked curiously at her cross face.

Choosing her words very carefully, she said, "I suppose he did. Except, I don't remember him ever claiming me as his legitimate child, when he reports next why don't you tell him that I would like to speak to him as soon as he is in town. Thank you for your conversation, Professor." She bowed respectfully and walked away with an unreadable expression. This made Ozpin worry more than he had when… _No, I refuse to think of that woman and… my lost children._ Set in his loneliness, he began his trek back to the library, he had to visit a few… students.

The entire confrontation had taken place away from Mercury, however; he could read lips and he knew what the headmaster had insinuated, and his obsidian eyes followed the professor into the building until he opened his book once the man had disappeared into the building. Then he turned to the page where her folder sat, and flipped it to the copy of her official birth document, FATHER: . The line was blank, he hadn't expected this, if Xiao-long was meant to be her father then why didn't he sign it. Unless he really wasn't her father, even Ruby seemed to know it, but the blonde girl in her team had called her sister. _I wonder how they've kept it from them, though it's more that blonde brawler that hasn't caught on yet, it should be interesting to see this revealed._

Closing the book, he followed in her direction to see her resting against a large tree in the middle of the courtyard, and her eyes were closed in exhaustion. Slowly, he approached her, and was surprised when she didn't stir or take her weapon out and threaten him again. When he sat next to her under the shade, he seen the tear streaks on her cheeks, and the clear bags underneath her eyes. Sighing, he figured if he wanted to get into her life, he might as well start by getting her to trust him. So, with another sigh, he lifted her from the ground easily and began his way to the dorm room he was given.

"Well, I didn't think you would be this successful Mercury," Cinder's sultry voice came from the entrance to the dorm building, and he forced himself not to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"No, Cinder, I want her to trust me before I make my real move on her. I need her to trust me so she comes for me for her problems, she needs to believe that I'm here for her. The best way to do that right now, is to make sure that she gets some sleep, without being bothered." He answered respectfully. "Can you please grab my scroll from my pocket and open the door for me when we get to our floor please?"

Cinder nodded civilly and followed him into the elevator, which was unfortunately occupied with a few students from Haven. "Whoa, Dude, that's Ruby Rose!" One of them exclaimed and Mercury gave him a narrow-eyed glare. "Do you even know who she is? She's the prodigy who got skipped ahead two years just to attend Beacon, you're so lucky to get to do her!"

"I'm not 'doing' anything with her. She fell asleep outside, and I wanted to make sure that she isn't messed with, by people like you." Mercury snapped and increased his glare enough to stop an Ursa minor in its tracks. When the elevator dinged, he stepped out, accompanied by Cinder. They arrived at his dorm room and he was more than grateful for the way she opened his door, and sat his scroll on the dresser next to the entrance, then walked away without so much as a glance. _That's going to be fun trying to explain later,_ he looked down at the sleeping Ruby in his arms, _you're already causing enough trouble for me- why do I have to try to persuade you to see reason._ He walked to his bed and carefully lay her on it without waking her up, then he took her shoes off, and covered her up.

When he had fully stepped away from her, he seen her hair fanned out on his pillow, and he couldn't help but admire the way her face was melted into a serene expression. Had it not been for the noticeable bags under her eyes, she would have looked like she were sleeping peacefully, though he knew she would be waking up soon. He sighed again and pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and looked out of the window as he placed his legs on the nightstand and began playing a soundless game on his scroll. She began tossing and huffing in her sleep, making him place his feet on the ground and wait for her back to face him, then he gently lay a hand on her back and rubbed soothing circles.

This is what he figured she would need, considering he always felt the want for someone to do the same thing to him, whenever he would have flashbacks about his 'lessons' with his father. She calmed down, but her face didn't return to the peacefulness that it had portrayed earlier. _Great, she's gonna wake up soon_ , he thought without really wanting that. Last time she was conscious, the 'conversation' they had had, was anything but pleasant. He had put his foot in his mouth and disregarded her dream to become a huntress, something he knew that he probably shouldn't have done, considering how intensively he had read her file and what his mission was.

 **"Come on Mercy-boy, I taught you how to charm better than that, remember you catch more bees with honey than you do with vinegar."** Mercury's had flew from her back and he pushed himself from the chair, knocking it to the ground as he took his stance and eyed the room in a paranoid frenzy, not noticing that his guest had woken up.

"It's okay… you're not in danger…" the soft voice drew him from his state of anxiousness to see Ruby, sitting up in his bed, with a look of comforting gentleness that he hadn't seen in a long time. "I… I'm sorry I was mean to you…" she apologized, and he settled down as he registered that she wasn't a threat, that he was safe. "It's just… I've had this job in my head as a career, since I lost my mom." She explained briefly, shocking him, her mother's status had been deceased, however; the file didn't tell him when the woman had died.

He slowly sat the chair back up on its legs and sat down on it. "If… If I can ask… when did you lose her?" Mercury asked carefully, and watched as she clenched the blanket in her hands, but he made no sound to take the question back.

"To be honest… I lost her when I was three. I don't remember anything about her, but I'm told by people who've met her that I look just like her, except I have the skin tone of my Dad. They keep saying that she had tan skin, that she was like a hero, that she went down protecting a village." Mercury watched as she tucked her knees to herself, wrapped her arms around her knees and placed her head on her arms. "I don't remember a thing about her, not even her special chocolate chip cookie recipe, which Yang says I helped her make every chance I got." She looked on the cusp of tears, but Mercury couldn't feel the need to comfort her, because he knew that it was better to let her cry this out.

"I lost my mom too." He admitted strategically, "my Dad was never the same, he taught me everything I know." _Like how to kill you in three different ways, without even batting an eye,_ he found himself thinking darkly. Being lost in thought made him almost jump when he felt her soft, yet calloused, hand upon his own.

"I'm sorry for your loss, do you remember anything about her?" She asked softly and he had to think extremely hard to remember just the bits that didn't include his father.

Slowly, he told her, "I know that she liked to sing. She played piano extremely well, and I think she taught me how, but it was so long ago." Ruby smiled at him and a memory from his time with his mother drifted across his mind. ** _Place your hands here to start with Mercury, then slowly move them across the keys, remembering to fan your fingers out like this._** He could have stayed by her side all day while she taught him piano, all the while knowing that eventually he would have to end their time together. "She had a beautiful singing voice." He recalled suddenly, slightly hearing her lullaby to him, whenever he had a bad nightmare.

Ruby sat on the edge of his bed and smiled at him, sadness filling her eyes as she said, "I'm glad that you're telling me this…" without warning she recalled that he hadn't introduced himself, nor had she told him her name, and she blushed crimson. "I just realized that we haven't even told each other our names, but… I'm Ruby Rose." She held her hand out to him in a handshake manner.

"Mercury Black, from Haven, and you're the child prodigy who skipped two grades to come here." Upon hearing her achievement, she blushed even brighter, resembling a tomato.

"I… didn't realize that anyone besides my team knew that…" she trailed off as she took her hand back.

Shrugging, Mercury gave a smirk, "well, the other headmasters knew and Professor Lionheart told all of the first years that we have to push ourselves harder than you. That is if we wanted to bring the trophy home." he answered. Ruby looked away from him, embarrassed that she had become the level at which others were pushed to achieve.

For a moment, she didn't speak, until she sighed. "Honestly, I wish that I wasn't at the level where the students from your school were pushed to be at, I mean Pyrrha Nikos is here. I know that she wants to be left alone, to be treated like everyone else, but I know that all the other students know that she's here." She stood and sighed, "I'm only at the level I am because I wanted my Dad to be proud enough to say that I'm his, but he… he keeps not telling me. He keeps calling me his niece. He doesn't even acknowledge that I know the truth, doesn't even try to act like a Dad." Shaking her head, she reached for her boots and began putting them on and lacing them up.

"What if he doesn't trust himself around you?" Mercury asked before he could stop himself. _Great job Mercury, putting your boot in your mouth again, don't be surprised if she slaps you._ He thought, only to be surprised with her scoff.

"If he didn't trust himself around me, then he shouldn't have trained me." She replied as she stopped her task, then she looked at him and sighed again. When she seen his shocked expression- him from not thinking that she could sound so cold, but she thought it was because he couldn't believe that she had practically spoken ill about her father. Ruby sighed again and bit her lip before she finished her job, "You might want to return that Grimm 101 book, that's reference material and those aren't allowed to be taken out of the library." She walked out of the room and sighed as she turned around to face him. "Thank you for everything Mercury, I'll… see you around campus.

He watched her all the way to the elevator and then shut the door behind him when he went back into his dorm. Mercury moved the chair back to the place it belonged and sat on the bed, only to find a scroll that wasn't his slightly sticking out from underneath the pillow. Curious, he opened it to find the device asking for a pass code. _This should be easy to open,_ he thought as he began to take out his bigger scroll and hook it up to hers, only to find that it was taking longer to break into the device.

"Well, I'll be damned, she really is a genius. Like everyone keeps saying, then that means… that she's been underestimated." He said aloud to himself, then he started to physically crack the code, finally breaking it granted him access to a screen of the teams RWBY and JNPR smiling at a picnic. "Very friends and family centric…" he muttered to himself before looking at her contacts, then adding himself. "Let's leave her a note on the screen." He spoke aloud to himself as he did just that, typing _'Look under the letter M, for those sleepless nights, Genius.'_


	4. Chapter 3

Ruby noticed almost immediately that her scroll was missing, though she didn't really want to do anything about it at the moment. After all, Ruby had somewhere else that she needed to be, the weapons repair area. She knew how her sister would react if she wasn't there, while Ruby was extremely grateful for her cousin's care, she had a tendency to over worry herself about the scythe wielder. The small girl sighed as she recognized the tree where Mercury had picked her up and brought her to his single-person dorm, interest piqued, she crosses the stone walkway to the tree where she looks around briefly. When she didn't see her scroll she allowed her eyes to droop a little bit, almost upset that she didn't find it.

 _I mean it's not like I'm gonna be in trouble anyways, that was the school-issued scroll, I can just calibrate my personal scroll to my dorm door_. Ruby thought as she kicked a small pebble, _It's not like anyone's going to miss it… or get into it anytime soon_. Smiling, she remembered the day that she had unblocked the parental control that kept her from locking her scroll, Ruby had given quite some thought into making that password as unbreakable as she could. When her team had walked into Professor Goodwitch class the next morning, Ruby immediately knew that she was the one who put the password-block on all of the student's scrolls, and she gave a cheery wave to the blonde professor before having to go one-on-four with team CRDL. Needless to say, Ruby emerged, out of breath but victorious leaving Goodwitch no option but to allow her to keep her pass code. Even though she knew it a fruitless attempt, she looked around once more and sighed, Ruby would never find it.

Giving up, she slowly made her way to the weapons repair area, and sat at the empty section farthest away from the door. Ruby took out crescent rose and began dissembling her on the table, it wasn't a problem for her, taking her weapon apart-because she knew her weapon inside and out. Ruby had been trained to know the basics of her weapon, and she pushed herself to know more than the basics, she wanted to be the best scythe-master in all of Remnant. It was her second most sought after long-term goal that she had, and Ruby had more than enough motivation to achieve her goals.

Without really thinking about it, she began to polish and clean her weapon, remembering to set her blade aside so that she could sharpen it later. Thinking about second nature habits brought her to thinking about her mother, everyone who knew her all those years ago were going to come watch the Vytal Festival Tournament, surely they wouldn't be surprised to see her daughter. Maybe her mother's parents would be watching, maybe they would be proud of the granddaughter that they never got to meet. It was wishful thinking, but Ruby wanted to know more about her mother, more than what her father let slip when he was too intoxicated to think straight, and more than her Uncle Tai would like to admit whenever she asked.

 _It's not fair… Yang has all of these memories from being with Mom, and I can't even remember her face._ She thought bitterly, a small scowl on her face, but Ruby knew it wasn't Yang's fault that she had so many memories of Summer Rose, and she never blamed her cousin for it. _I just wish… that I had some sort of memory from her, at least so that I don't feel so guilty that I don't miss her…_ She thought sadly. Ruby shook her head and continued to polish her weapon pieces, she knew that this process would take forever and she was okay with that.

 **"Think of your weapon as an extension of yourself Rubes, it'll be much easier to move it around if you aren't jerking your arm to get your weapon to follow, that will lead to more mess ups than you can count."** That was how her 'Uncle Qrow' had taught her at least, and it was what she lived by. She took care of her weapon meticulously, and aside from cookies she took care of her health pretty well, Ruby felt that her weapon was another part of her. A part of her that needed more maintenance than her actual self, and Ruby was just fine with that, she didn't want her weapon to jam in the middle of a battle-and it wouldn't if she took good care of it.

Though with the fact that she thought of it more as a child than an inanimate object used for protecting, she knew that she would always take care of her darling crescent rose, attending to her weapon with the utmost care and diligence. Smiling to herself, she placed the last piece of metal that needed to be polished and retrieved her blade, ready to use the provided whetstone. Then, she took note of Cardin Winchester sitting a few stations away from her, so she very silently made her way over to the whetstone and began to polish her blade. "You know you hum when you work on your weapon right?" Cardin started and Ruby almost paused in her task. "It's… relaxing… continue." It was a demand, but coming from Cardin, it had sounded almost slightly soft.

So, without thought once more, she began humming an old tune that Yang had told her their mother used to sing to them. "You know that's gotta be the only time a girl's singing has sounded good… it's been a while since I've heard it." He trailed off and Ruby wanted to ask what he meant by that, but he had 'asked' if she would continue to hum, so she did.

"I didn't know you were someone to hum while working on a deadly weapon, Ruby." Coco Adele remarked as she sauntered into the weapons repair area, her glasses on her face and her hair looking immaculate, even though she clearly got through with a spar-her uneven breaths giving her away. "It's actually kinda soothing…" The second-year trailed off as she sat down at the station next to the whetstones and behind Cardin Winchester. "Isn't that right, Winchester?"

Ruby could sense the tension radiate from Cardin as he trembled slightly, though she knew not whether it be fear or anger, she finished with the sharpening her blade she rushed back to her station. There she attached her blade and finished reassembling crescent rose with a smile. "Thank goodness, all better." Ruby sighed before making her way past Cardin and stopping at Coco. "When are you going to start working on your weapon Coco? I would really be interested in learning how you calibrate your weapon, and all of the mechanisms involved in it."

"I'll probably do it later, I just wanted to find out where you were," Coco answered as she stood.

Groaning, Ruby clipped her weapon on her back, "Didn't know that you were a spy for Yang…"

"She's worried about you little Rose, and to be honest, I am too. You've been a little drawn back from… well everything. You don't seem to smile like you used to, and you never seem to want to talk about the breach." Coco tried to convince Ruby, only to watch the young girl look down and away from the older leader, "See? You've got to try and talk to her more, she's got this weird idea that you might drop out of Beacon at this rate."

"Well, I don't think that's going to happen at any time soon, I've got my eye on this career, and more importantly to help others. Coco, I appreciate you helping calm my…" she pauses as she notices her fellow leader's face, "sister down. Really, I do, but I can't just talk to her like normal. This is… something that I have to get over by myself, and I know that it's probably the most irresponsible thing to do but I can't talk to her right now." Ruby crossed her arms and briefly met Coco's eyes, before looking down again. "She's someone very important to me, and I would go so far as to say that she's the most important person to me, and that is why I can't speak to her about it."

Feeling worried, but otherwise understanding, Coco met Ruby's eyes and gave a small smile. "I understand why you have to do this," then she placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "just know that we're all here for you whenever you want to talk to us about it."

The younger of the two nodded her head, "I know Coco, thanks for understanding."

"Oh, I understand just fine, it's your sister who is going to be worried out of her mind whenever I tell her that I can't do 'Ruby detail' anymore."

The less social of the two rolled her eyes, "don't I know that. I'll try and work up the courage to talk to her soon, just don't be a stranger Coco. Don't know what I'd do if I don't have someone who doesn't see me as someone who needs to be looked after all of the time." Ruby remarked as she began to walk away, eventually coming face-to-face with Professor Ozpin again. "Oh, good evening again Professor, I'm sorry about our last run-in I wasn't…" she struggled with her words. "I wasn't in the best of moods at the time, I had just had a short argument with a… a friend."

Chuckling, the headmaster replied: "Oh,just a friend? That is how your mother introduced your father." Ruby's cheeks colored slightly, and he had to keep himself from laughing, the girl reminded him of her mother so much. Often, he had to remind himself that she wasn't Summer, and every time he did it ended up hurting him. Not to mention sending sharp pains through his heart and a detritus of memories through his mind, leaving behind the aching reminder that his little girl was gone. "What is it that you are doing walking about after five?"

"It's that late already? Wow, I guess time does pass fast whenever you're having fun working on your weapon."

 **"Daddy Look!" A smaller version of his beloved daughter played through his mind as she held up a poorly made fan-sword combo, the handle grasped tightly enough to make him frown. "What is it? Does it look funny? I mean I know it does, but I worked really hard on it!" Five-year-old Summer had to try to convince him. All he did was smile softly at his pride and joy, her ramblings continuing making him believe that the moment would never end, but at the time-he wouldn't have had it any other way.**

"Are you alright Professor?" He was brought out of his broken memory by the voice of a very concerned sixteen-year-old.

Clearing his throat, he gave a slight rasp, "Yes. I just need a bit more sleep, thank you for your consideration, young ." Be formal, she isn't Summer, he thought coldly. It was true, Ruby Rose certainly wasn't his daughter, but that was most likely brought on by the hindering of a potion she was given long ago. "Your team must be on the look for you, perhaps they are worried sick." He suggested, hoping that she would rush off as he sat upon a bench to oversee the sunset.

Instead, she plopped herself beside him, not a clue in the world that her presence was unwanted. "I'm told that my mother loved to watch the sun set, Dad says that the gold in the color set her creativity afire and she painted them, though he also says that she wasn't very good at it either." Ruby gave a slight giggle, before it trailed off. "Professor...did you know my mother?"

"Yes, she was a very bright individual, top of her class if I remember correctly." He answered, though his voice sounded strained to her and her feelings of loneliness and grief slightly increased. "She was a very courageous huntress, and very resourceful, you remind me of her in passing moments."

Though Ruby knew that it was an insult, partially, she dismissed it entirely. "How? I was so… frightened during the breach…" She tried not to tear up, but she did anyways as she stared at the sky with the most beautiful hues of a golden and crimson fire slowly evaporating into a cool, serene pool of pink and purple.

"Yes, you were fearful, but did you weaver in your task to save the citizens that were in trouble?" He asked, it was rhetorical and Ruby didn't answer. "Your mother's favorite quote was: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. From now on you'll be traveling the road between who you think you are and who you can be. The key is to allow yourself to make the journey." She was very poetic at times, and if she were here, I believe that she would have told you that." He gave a soft smile at the view upon the horizon.

Ruby chanced a glance at him and noticed a small tear at the crease of his eye, then she looked forward again. "Professor, did she… did she ever blame herself for people that she couldn't save?"

 **"Come child, tell me what ails you, you haven't spoken to your mother or I since your mission."**

 **"Father, I've been… What if my team could have made it there on time? I can't stop thinking that, that if we had been a little faster in our haste, then all of those villagers would still be alive."**

 **Ozpin looked up at his daughter from his cup of coffee, her head was lowered and he could see that she trembled. 'Best to nip these thoughts in the bud fast,' he had thought before saying: "Nonsense, Salem would have killed them all eventually, the grimm gave them a more peaceful journey."**

"More than you could even imagine child, but you must remember, that it wasn't your lack of skill that took their lives. It was the claws of the grimm that you've slain, you have gotten justice for their deaths." When he glanced at Ruby, she looked taken aback. "Never think that it will get easier, because the moment it does…" He met her eyes seriousness seeping from his very aura as he finished, "you will no longer be a good huntress." _Please don't repeat what your mother did._

The huntress-in-training was completely silent before looking at the sun set in front of them once more. "Professor, I'm not the best student here, but I can tell when there is more to a story than is being said. I won't ask you what I want to for now, but I will tell you that one day, I will get my answers." She stood and looked at her headmaster once more, "I just hope that you answer me truthfully, because I consider you a good friend."

Chuckling, the headmaster said, "that isn't exactly allowed. Being friends with the headmaster or teachers for that matter."

Smiling, Ruby looked at the water fountain next to her, "Perhaps not, but even so our conversation was very nice." She exhaled for a moment, feeling a little lighter at the redundant remark about her and her mother's junctures in their personalities _. For some reason, it's better to hear from Professor Ozpin, just like with Dad._ Ruby thought to herself absentmindedly. "It was nice, hearing more about her than what my Dad was willing to let slip, thank you professor you don't know how much this talk means to me."

"I think you underestimate me, just like I have done with you, . This conversation was more than I thought it would be, and I am quite pleased that it was, thank you for being patient with me as I reorganized by thoughts." He stood with a slight groan. "It is getting too chilled for this, perhaps the next time you would like to speak, it should be over tea and assignments in my office." _Dammit, this isn't Summer, Ozpin what the hell are you thinking?_

"Thank you for the offer Professor, it is appreciated, and I will check with Professor Goodwitch if it will be alright to consult you on some upcoming assignments later. You have a good evening, Professor."

"Thank you, you do the same Miss. Rose." With that, Ozpin took his leave, thinking: _she's just as polite as Summer, maybe that potion is wearing off…_

Ruby looked back to the horizon where the sun was setting, and frowned at the colors, the blues and purples making her seem too stand-outish to her. She refused to take her cape off however; because the chill that was already nipping at her cheeks, tried to seep into the bones of her arms and legs. "You know it's getting too cold to begin stargazing." Ruby turned and took in the sight of Mercury with both of his hands in his pockets, that's probably his default stance, she thought fleetingly as he made his way over to her.

"You seem awfully cheery for someone who seems to have been through a lot…" She trailed off before she sat on the bench.

"I could say the same thing about you, Miss. Ruby you are a mystery, keeping a cautious and a genius soul behind your cherry and childish deposition. Should you really be the one to speak of that?" He fired defensively.

She gave a slight scoff and looked at him, "Touche, but perhaps, you could sit? It doesn't seem too chilly for a friendly chat." she suggested and he rolled his eyes.

"Actually, it is for me, but I needed to give you this." He held out her scroll, and her eyes widened, more in shock that she was seeing it again. "I need to head inside soon, the curfew for us started thirty minutes ago, but I couldn't find you." She gingerly took the scroll with a small smile, "I didn't know if we would actually see each other in class or not, so I needed to get it to you tonight." He lied.

Ruby was speechless for a moment, she had only met the guy that day, and the first impression that she had given him wasn't the best. "Thank you Mercury…" She trailed off with a blush.

"It wasn't a problem." _Not tonight anyways…._ He thought briefly as he shoved his hand back in his pocket. "I hope you sleep better than you have been, it isn't healthy to be sleeping in class, especially here." He remarked as he began walking away, not really wanting to hear more of the girl's voice. Sure, he was mildly intrigued by her, but that was it. She wasn't anything but a pawn in the bigger scheme of things for his boss. Ruby Rose was the reason that he wasn't able to leave, she was his chain now, and he would forever be reminded of it when he was successful in his mission.

"Thank you Mercury!" Ruby called, making him stop in his tracks. Her voice had a small lilt to it, a soft incline that reminded him of his mother's old friend's daughter. So childish and innocent, so carefree, so… caring in general. He looked back, and he could have sworn that he seen Ruby as a small girl, wearing a small white dress, accented in red and black flowers. Then, as fast as the mirage had come, it was gone, leaving a waving Ruby with a large smile on her face. He rose his hand from his pocket and gave a short wave, not realizing that it wasn't just the two of them, that a blonde was watching.

He turned and left the huntress-in-training alone, she had stopped waving and was secretly wishing that he would turn around and say something. She didn't know what she wanted him to say, but she sort of expected him to say something. What it was, she hadn't the faintest clue, but she knew that he wasn't going to do that, he was far too reserved for that. She heaved a sigh as she turned to see her cousin standing beside a tree, making it look like she was just resting there, but Ruby knew better than to believe that. "What is it Yang?"

Shocked that she had been caught red-handed, the blonde faced her younger cousin, "It's… wow, I never expected you to grow up so fast…"

 **Hello Everyone! I just want to point out that on school nights the updates will be later in the day, but because I stayed up late doing an essay, I figured that I would update for everyone who reads this story! Feedback and Criticism is welcome!**

 **Total Words Including Author's note at the end: 3,660**


	5. Chapter 4

"I'm sorry?" Ruby asked as she crossed her arms and jutted out her hip, making Yang approach her little sister-figure.

"It's just…" she gave a sigh as she sat on the bench, "I wish that you'd have had more time before you started to recognize boys." The blonde gave a small chuckle as she rolled her eyes, "I had thought that it would be some kind hearted guy, that you two would be together until your last year of Beacon. I imagined that you two would start off as best friends, then you two would slowly become more than that, and eventually you two would get married." Yang explained.

"What are you going on about now Yang?" Ruby asked as she sat down herself, making the blonde give a sad smile to the girl.

"I'm saying that you and that guy that was just here were practically meant to be."

"Pshhhh, you're just kidding with me, besides, he'd never go for me anyways." She replied, feeling quite bashful, and inadequate for someone as cool as Mercury as she picked at a frayed edge of her skirt. "Never mind that he might be in his fourth year, and I'm just starting out in Beacon like two years early. Dad would have my head for that, all things considering… ya' know?"

Feeling a bit angry that her cousin thought so little of her, she calmed her anger with difficulty, then Yang put a hand on Ruby's shoulder: "You shouldn't worry about Dad, besides, I could find some things out about him. If ya'd like?" she asked, hoping Ruby would say yes.

"Why not? Knowing my luck, he'll find out, and I'll be laughed at for having feelings for someone who I can't even stand." Ruby muttered sarcastically.

Assuming that Ruby wasn't safe with the unknown teenager, Yang made a note to take a pic of the kid, and ask Junior later. "Well regardless of how ya' feel about him now, let's get you inside, it's time for some shut eye."

Ruby shifted uncomfortably at the mention of shutting her eyes, and seeing visions of the breach once more. "Actually, I think I'll head in a bit later, I want to see the moon rise all the way." She lied, keeping her eyes on the horizon, so that the blonde couldn't tell if she was lying or not.

Skeptical, Yang gave a nod, not understanding what Ruby was going through at the moment. "Well, alright, I'll leave you to it. Just know that if you aren't in the room in ten minutes, I'll come back out here to drag you into bed, shower or not."

With a small bit of annoyance, Ruby rolled her eyes, "alright, alright. I hear you, I'll be in in five. So don't worry about me." Yang affectionately ruffled the almost sixteen year old's hair. "Just get yourself in the shower, you still smell pretty bad from our rematch." Ruby remarked as she turned away from her with a smile on her face while fixing her hair.

* * *

Several minutes later, Ruby stepped out of the steaming shower, the time flashing from the clock on the wall next to the door; 22:25 **(10:25 for those who don't know army time. :/ )**. The flashes of that day came playing through her consciousness as if lulling herself into a silent reprieve and then into a frenzy of anxiety and over exertion. She picked up her scroll and gave a silent sigh at her background, the picture was taken the day before the dance, all of them together and smiling.

Ruby observed the stand still photo, how lively they all looked, how confident she seemed behind those silver pools filled with hope. How fiery Yang's hair blazed, how fiercely Blake had fought for her book, and how Jaune seemed to follow Weiss' every movement, a hint of sadness held close to his irises. Nora and Ren sat in their own little world, the ginger eating a pancake with her eyes closed, and him looking at her with the hidden love within his pink pools of silent knowingness, all the while, Pyrrha looked wistfully at Jaune, wishing without words that he would love her the way she loved him. Curious, the teen moved away the sheen of water and mist off of the section of the mirror, leaving droplets and her own reflection.

Now, she could see the girl she'd become. Her eyes, while still silver, held more knowledge than they had before. Underneath them, her bags were prominent and her own cheeks seemed to be less full than they had almost two weeks ago. She seemed to be wasting away, and she hadn't even realized it, well it wasn't that bad. The deterioration was just… noticeable. Unneeded questions flew through her mind: 'Had anyone noticed?' 'If so, then how come no one had told her?' 'What would her father say?' 'Why hadn't her counselor called her into their office?' 'Was it noticeable to him.' She shook her head, 'I should care about what _he_ thinks of me... he's only a friend.

"Come on Ruby, I know you don't have much hair to wash, hurry up in there!" Weiss yelled from inside their dorm room. The red haired girl gathered her clothes, and then put them in their laundry dump, making a note that they needed to be done tomorrow. Once she'd opened the door, Weiss sighed in appreciation, "Thank Oum that you're out." Then the platinum blonde walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind herself.

"Ruby, are you alright?" Blake asked upon seeing her leader's seemingly ghost-like appearance. "You haven't been… yourself lately." She had wanted to say 'normal', then she realized that the girl was anything but normal.

Laughing nervously, Ruby waved it off as she got her pajamas out of her drawer. "Of course I'm fine, I'm just trying to remember what homework I need to do, don't want my grades to slip. You know?"

Upon taking note of the grammar change, the faunus looked at Ruby gently. "You know, it's okay, to not be okay, right? You don't have to pretend to be just fine with the breach, I know that it's hard, the first time being-"

"Please stop." Ruby said, her back towards the girl as she slipped on her pajama top. "I am fine, this is the career that I chose, and I knew that it wouldn't be easy. Right now, I'm just processing some things, and realizing that some things aren't as simple as I thought. Now, I know differently and I'm adjusting my viewpoint on the world we live in."

Seeing that the leader wasn't in the mood to continue the conversation, the ex-whitefang member nodded her head. "Alright, well, I'm here if you would like to talk to me."

Hearing the slightly hurt lilt to her voice, Ruby turned towards her teammate, "Thank you for understanding Blake." She said, making the faunus blink away tears at the unfamiliar words to her.

"Not a problem, Ruby."

Feeling anxious and afraid of sleep, Ruby went to her bed, and took out her homework. The pages of work that she'd needed to get done by the next day wasn't catastrophic, but it was enough to make her let out a sigh of pre exhaustion. Getting to work on Grimm 101 lessons, she emitted yet another sigh as she was going to have to read the paragraph within the lesson. Halfway through her paragraph, her eyes began to feel like sandbags, and her head seemed to weigh a ton. Lulling her head so it lay on her shoulder helped for a bit, but then her eyelids slowly closed and stayed shut for a longer period of time.

Eventually, the sixteen year old had no choice whether to stay conscious or not, and was just snoozing. The small dots behind her eyes, some spots lighter than others due to her small light, made shapes. They were unidentifiable at first, then they were suddenly large beowulves, towering over her with a howl so ferociously wild that it made her ears ring. The warm stone beneath her palms began to burn as she moved her hand, eventually landing on something with a liquid and squishy consistency, making her eyes snap open. Under her hand, she let out a silent scream once she looked beneath her palm: a piece of someone's brain.

The tears were quick to come to her eyes as she threw the brain matter away from herself, and whipped her hand on the stone underneath her, before she tried to calm herself down. Then a shriek cracked through the sky as she sat there, making her shaking hands reach for her scratched weapon. Once she'd grabbed a hold of it, she steadied her hands and stood on unsteady knees, coughing as her ears still emitted a shrill ringing paired with an echoing shriek of a woman she might never meet. Moving immediately, she jumped into action, moving in haste to the woman without a face. Once there she seen a King Taijutsu grimm poised to attack a woman wearing an ensemble of black and blue.

Once she'd taken care of the grimm, she very quickly bolted off, not replying to the woman's shout of thanks. She was still shook to the core from how she'd woken up, and as she ran with less grace than usual, she was thrown against a broken wall, landing in front of a carcass. It was a child this time, with a face forevermore stuck in fear and pain, and body crushed beneath a large piece of building, making Ruby feel a rage she'd never felt before in her entire life. Her narrowed vision didn't allow her to see the beowulf charging at her, and eventually she was covered in the silhouette of the monster, which seemed to take in her eyes for a moment. Then, it batted her away with its mighty, destructive claw in the direction that she hadn't been before.

Ruby hit the wall of a crumbling store, and she struggled to rise to her knees upon noticing her body aching and ears ringing once more. Then, she took in the sight of another carcass, this time, of a smaller child. Its head wasn't smashed in the least, but it might as well have been, as the blood pooled beneath the body, and ran throughout the cracks between the stone walkway. She scooted as far away from the body as she could and wept for a few minutes. 'This isn't the time for this, Ruby Marie Rose, you must get up and defend the citizens.' She tried to remind herself, as she rose to her feet with the jerking movement that a marionette would usually have, then she grasped her weapon once more and slowly moved back to the battle.

The sight that awaited her wasn't one she was happy to have found, but it was what she had chosen, and it was what she would continue to pick. After all, it was all she could do, to keep the monsters away. Just as she made it to her friends, she was in a barren wasteland, grimm surrounding her. Crescent Rose was nowhere to be found and she was all alone, against an army of grimm. "You're all alone in your pain, little rose, but don't fret. You could join me and be among family, among friends, be who you were meant to be." Ruby cowered and trembled at the sight before her, a woman with red irises and black veins going to her eyes from her cheeks. On her forehead dangled a small gravity dust stone, suspended by a thin, almost invisible chain upon her silver locks. "You mustn't worry child, I will be here for you, you needn't fear the grimm, they are far more caring than the humans you surround yourself with."

"No, they aren't! They're monsters, created to destroy humanity, to put us at odds with one another!" Ruby screamed as she denied the horrible accusations.

The woman's eyes seemed to glow a violent red now, rather than the softer crimson they had just moments ago. "If that is how you truly feel, then you must DIE!"

* * *

Ruby awoke in a heavy sweat, her light having been turned off by one of her teammates while she had slept. She couldn't do it anymore, the more she observed her classmate, the more that unknown woman seemed to be correct. People like Cardin Winchester needed to be taught a lesson, faunus are human too, they have rights. They shouldn't be scrutinized due to having different features than what 'normal' people have, but then she remembered the horrible crimes the new White Fang members did and continued to do.

In a confused frenzy, she slowly slipped out from her covers and walked to her shared closet, maybe a nice walk in the Autumn air might help calm her racing mind. Upon dressing, she grasped her scroll and left the room with a soft click, not waking any of her friends from their slumber. She unlocked her scroll once more, and took note of a memo pasted to her background, 'for those sleepless nights look under M in your contacts.' Would he understand? Would he be able to help her identify how she was feeling? About the entire ordeal, the Breach, her lost memories, the empty feeling in the pit of her stomach before looking at food, then her feeling as if she'd eaten an entire buffet? Taking a chance, she walked to the end of the hallway, and pressed the first floor button. Ruby moved to her contacts, and selected Mercury Black before calling.

If anyone could help her now, it was him.

Mercury woke to the buzzing of his phone, "What does Cinder want now?" He grumbled to himself, but was happy to have been jerked from his unconsciousness. Then, he seen the name of Ruby Rose lighting up his screen. "Ruby? Are you okay?" 'Please just tell me to leave this place…'

"Yeah…"

She definitely didn't sound okay. "What's up?"

"Can… can you meet me by the fountain? I… I couldn't sleep." She answered, and some part of his heart broke a bit by hearing that.

"I can, I'll be there once I get dressed, okay?"

"Okay." Her voice was trembling, and he couldn't help but hasten his routine of dress.

* * *

It didn't take long for Mercury to get to the fountain, and he frowned when he seen her sitting on the edge of the decorative centerpiece of the courtyard. "Hey there Ruby, you wanted to see me?" He asked as he approached her with careful movements. She looked up at him, tears filling her silver eyes, and her shoulders quaking. "Hey, is everything alright?" 'Not that I personally care, but for the mission.' He thought as she shook her head.

"There are… holes in my memories. I know that I'm supposed to remember some of my mother, but I just… I can't. There's some kind of barrier that's keeping me from remembering anything… and I can't… I don't want to not remember her." She answered as she looked away from him. "Then there are the feelings and nightmares from… the breach." Her breath hitched when she brought the event up, making him almost want to hug the sobbing girl.

'Focus on how she feels first Mercury, that's the best plan.' He thought before he sat next to her. "How about you tell me about those feelings first…" He suggested, keeping his attention on her. "That seems like the most manageable one to take care of right now."

Taking a deep breath, she looked at him, "whenever I'm hungry, I go to the lunchroom. But as soon as I've got my food, and sit down to eat, I suddenly feel full and sick to my stomach." She explained, keeping her pools of molten iron fixed on his form. "What's your diagnosis."

'That you have a weak stomach and that you wouldn't make it as a real huntress,' He thought to himself. "Well, I think that you need to start with a small bite of food. Something that you enjoy eating, something that you really miss eating. Don't be surprised if you want to gag, considering how long it's been since the breach, I'm assuming that you haven't had a lot of food since then, right?" In response he got a slow nod from the small girl. "If you would like, I could… sit with you to make sure you eat." He suggested, though he really didn't want to. 'While I don't want to do this, it will make sure I spend less time with Cinder and her puppy eyed crush.'

Ruby took yet another deep breath as she looked away from him, "that would be… okay." She answered with a small smile.

"Now, about those nightmares, why don't you talk about them?"

Already losing her nerve, she looked away from him. "I don't think I want to right now, I just… I want to sit here and enjoy the moonlight in good company." she answered, her voice shaking lightly.

"Then let's see about those missing Memories."


End file.
